Who Wanted a CASSETTE TAPE Comeback?

[@MikeJehmsz]

_Take a shot every time I say_ *"CaSSeTtE!"* 😂 If you're reading this, give me some music recommendations. Always looking for new artists!

[@adaboy4z]

Cassettes have never left. Millions of them where sold and are still being used. Analog was the original sound that people fell in love with!! I own 8 decks TOTL.

[@MikeJehmsz]

No doubt about that! It's great to see cassettes re-enter their original spotlight. *EIGHT* top of the line decks? That sounds badass 😎

[@RetroCollector]

I’m pretty big into collecting cassettes rn myself, I have one of the last Sony cassette decks made and enjoy blasting my tapes with hi-fidelity quality. I’m currently collecting 90’s/2000’s hip-hop/rock albums, (will post short soon of collection)

[@MikeJehmsz]

@@RetroCollector Fitting you mention Sony! Their cassette decks have always been top of the line. I found the Walkman you see at the beginning (0:00) literally the week before this was uploaded. If only I found it sooner! 😅 Thanks for watching!

[@flower5185]

cassette tapes have been coming back for over a decade tbh. Indie record labels, experimental music and bandcamp have been using them for a long time

[@MikeJehmsz]

I'm glad you mentioned Bandcamp! I came across some artists by accident who were selling their music on cassette. Some even had complete *_vinyl pressings_* listed!

[@Mish_ioVA]

I LOVE THIS EDITING, and it's right in the center of my recommended. win-win.

[@MikeJehmsz]

Y'all, I showed up in this guy's recommended feed! 😎🤩

[@DanielEndersby]

Fantastic video, so glad I randomly got it recommended. Ultra high effort, hope it blows up for you.

[@MikeJehmsz]

It's awesome to hear that this is being recommended to people! Thanks for watching, bro!

[@foreignparticle1320]

I grew up with tapes... and I couldn't WAIT to get a CD player. When I eventually did (I think I was 12) I never went back to cassettes. The sound quality of discs was infinitely superior, the ability to skip tracks was awesome, the artwork/booklets were bigger, there was no risk of tape un-spooling itself or getting tangled in the mechanism, and they didn't degrade (at least, not in my lifetime!). I'm not begrudging anyone of collector pleasure, but I do find it quite amusing to watch younger generations get into tapes. For a brief period I also contemplated buying a player again... then I remembered how much I hated listening to music on them. Very glad I kept all my discs though - that music ownership thing really IS a thing.

[@MikeJehmsz]

Great points! I grew up when both cassettes and CDs were on the scene. Safe to say, I used my CD player more often as I got older 😅 On tape, it's either sitting through the whole thing or guesstimate during a fast-forward.

[@jackofallgamesTV]

You forgot the one last feature that's important. The record button. You need a way to record on cassettes. You need a full size boombox in order to do that. Most walkmen do not have record buttons.

[@MikeJehmsz]

*GREAT point!* I actually didn't go into too much detail because a lot of modern-day players I found had record features, whether they were boomboxes or Walkman-style players. It was more of a general standpoint, but I'm glad you mentioned it!

[@TeaCup1987]

From what I've seen, extreme metal genres are probably the most released cassettes right now.

[@MikeJehmsz]

Definitely not wrong! I ended up finding a lot of metal cassettes after this video went up. No doubt tapes are coming back into the limelight.

[@crazymusicgeek9233]

Hey Mike! This is DJ (formally Nickelodeon Critic) and I must say this is probably my favorite video of yours. A lot of local DIY Indie, Punk, and metal love utilizing the cassette format and I see this more at local shows than any other format. I even started keeping tabs on manufacturers for once my band is going 😉

[@MikeJehmsz]

Once your band drops a cassette album, drop me a DM. I'm totally picking up a copy. Thanks for watching, DJ!

[@terratenientesalgo2511]

basically i have all my dad´s old mixtapes and music i used to hear all the time when i was young, all the casette players i have bought over the years have been faulty so i want a quality one.

[@MikeJehmsz]

The Panasonic and Sony units I used in this video have held up for quite a while. For a modern-day player, I’d say the *We Are Rewind* unit is pretty solid!

[@CoinOpTV]

making mix tapes for friends was a thing when I was young!

[@MikeJehmsz]

I wouldn't be surprised if *that* comes back 😄 Thanks for watching, Rob!

[@Tinyflower1]

i never stopped buying cds of the game music, artists and film music i liked, i also always bought the movies i liked on dvd or bluray, and now with streaming becoming more and more expensive and shows disappearing all the time i am kinda happy i did. Cassettes are mostly interesting to me as a cheap way to release my own music on

[@MikeJehmsz]

I'm with you on the first part. The shelves behind me speak for themselves 😅 Plus, indie music artists like you are driving this cassette resurgence!

[@little.zayzay]

As someone who is part of gen Z who is 22 years old I'm actually going to go buy a cassette deck tomorrow I have had a tape collection for years always been into 80s music but also there are some Modern artists that I like I have noticed that a lot of big box stores have started pulling out cassettes in modern albums on cassettes and there are 3 new music store that are opening up soon and I'm really excited. I have a cassette collection and I already have a stereo that I've had for months now and can't wait to use it with the cassette deck ❤.

[@Teac4010s]

You're young gen z. The cassette thing has been happening way longer than 2014.

[@MikeJehmsz]

You're younger than I am, but not by too much 😆 Anyway, it's cool to hear you're well on your way! Where exactly have you found modern albums on cassette? I've only found Guardians of the Galaxy tapes between Walmart and Barnes & Noble.

[@Bluepenguins2]

Your video came up in my recommended and I'm so glad it did. Thanks for the awesome video! Looking forward to more!!

[@MikeJehmsz]

Thank YOU for watching! It's great to hear this is hitting recommended feeds 😄

[@Mentski]

Shame all modern prerecorded tapes are recorded on low-quality Type I ferric crap, and that all modern players use the same equally low-quality Tanashin mechanism which is the only one still being produced. Not that any of the kids with no real first hand experience of recordings from good media and gear would know the difference.

[@MikeJehmsz]

I’ve heard about the Tanashin mechanism. It’s a shame that’s basically the only one still being made today, even in “higher-end” players. At this rate, my Walkman in the first shot might be the best player I have.

[@Soosheon]

I've been collecting cassettes since 2021, and I'm glad to see it come back. It's my favorite kind of media format. I'm 27. We didn't use them when I was growing, we had CDs. I kinda picked it out myself, and found I liked the sound over Vinyl and CD. Cheap too, though good hardware isn't as cheap. The last couple of Taylor Swift albums were released on them.

[@MikeJehmsz]

We aren't too far apart in age! I lowkey almost bought a TTPD cassette while developing this video... xD Good point about the hardware, too! I honestly didn't expect cassettes to sound this good. Either that, or the players I had growing up were terrible.

[@Vinman8149]

MRS. YEEEST JUMPSCARE MRS. YEEEST JUMPSCARE

[@MikeJehmsz]

Thanks for helping me research cassettes while poking around online, Mrs. Yeest Coheed-Cambria.

[@turtlefromthenorth]

Has anyone done a recent comparison of the various cassette players? The best used to be something like a Yamaha or Tandberg double deck player, and part of a stereo system. All cassettes weren`t equal, a tape recording could vary quite a lot from a store bought original to a homemade copy of a copy, etc. The digital streams we are used to today aren`t all the same either, if you manage to get a good recording compared to a lot of what is streaming on the web, there are noticeable differences. It is too hard work to hunt down the best of the best all the time, but it is helpful to have a sort of benchmark when it comes to players and recordings.

[@MikeJehmsz]

That's actually a pretty good point! Given a lot of mass-produced tapes were also hand-recorded, I'd imagine some flaws would squeak through. How would you classify the differing digital recordings? In my experience, it's come down to compression and even the overall mix. Usually, streaming copies tend to be lossy. Apple's Lossless isn't 100% perfect.

[@turtlefromthenorth]

@@MikeJehmsz I can`t really give a good answer. For me streaming services are mostly on my phone and computer with headphones or two tiny desktop loudspeakers. Not the best equipment at all, but that is what I have at the moment. I guess the best might be uncompressed files. In real life think the best we get is 320kps MP3 or something like that, but even with in this lossless category you get different qualities. I never really know what type of file I play on my pc or where it originated from. I just as often stream videos on KZbin. The best sound I have at home is on my old stereo, a record player and dab radio, plugged into an amplifier; but then the music is through very different loudspeakers too. I search for a pleasant sound, something that is easy my ears. A lot of the equipment we are subject too these days has a harshness to it, and sort of flatness.

[@MikeJehmsz]

@@turtlefromthenorth My setup is a bit overkill. I'm running a full Dolby Atmos theater-style arrangement. When I'm not AirPlaying my phone, my record turntable also goes to those speakers. 2-ch stereo to a multi-output! When I'm at my computer, it's usually my Tascam mixing headphones or my Atmos-capable Sony earbuds. Good point about "a pleasant sound." That's more or less what I go for. I can't always discern lossiness by ear 😅

[@turtlefromthenorth]

@@MikeJehmsz I have noticed differences between amplifiers, where one made me noticed instruments clear and distinctive that hardly was there on the other. Similar differences turn up in the various stuff we find streaming on the web, even if they are set to have the same standard file type. You setup sounds great, enjoy what you have managed to put together. I don`t know if stereo is used the same way in recordings anymore, since we have this 5 way surround systems, at least for films. Some times the stereo recording comes to full advantage with a two or four speaker setup. We really need a high quality set up and spend time and money to get to know all the finer points with sound systems. At the moment I am just relaxing with what I have ;- )

[@andrewreynolds912]

As a gen z American socialist who owns a working TPS-L2 Sony Walkman, the same model from guardians of the galaxy! That thing was expe'nsive af I got it with my own mo'ney at 6'00$ plus another 50 for tax'es and ship'ping and came from Japan on Eb'ay and it's the fo'rgien version just like that in the movie! I also got the guardians of the galaxy soundtrack tape that one of the last sound manuf'acturers and it cost I think a gr'eat pr'ice at 12.92$ on Ama'zon very great price I love it! I got many cassettes and a boombox and such so yea its fun lol

[@MikeJehmsz]

You're a Gen Z American of good taste 😎 The Guardians tapes were really low-priced. They made it easy to collect each one!

[@andrewreynolds912]

@@MikeJehmsz thanks man

[@andrewreynolds912]

​@MikeJehmsz gen z is making the cassettes come back including gen z like me

[@andrewreynolds912]

​@@MikeJehmsz are currently having more and more cassette tapes coming out because their cheaper than vinyl

[@andrewreynolds912]

​ @MikeJehmsz I hope cassette tapes our sell vinyl records in the coming years but will see

[@ebodaman]

Walmart has started selling their ONN brand CD AM FM CASSETTE BLUETOOTH for $35 bucks

[@MikeJehmsz]

That's actually a pretty good price. How's the build and player quality? If it's solid, I might check it out.

[@ebodaman]

@@MikeJehmsz I think it sounds better than Sony CFD-S70. Build is ok.

[@MikeJehmsz]

@@ebodaman That *is* pretty good. Thanks for the rec! I'll look into this.

[@jonathansmith4737]

As a modern Vinyl collector do I need to get into cassette tapes? I loved this video and I would love to see you do the same format for CDs. I have thought about getting into them again and there is this beautiful modern cd player made by Moondrop called the Disc Dream which I’m still waiting to become available.

[@MikeJehmsz]

Hey, vinyl's awesome! To keep a long story short, I'd say it depends on what you use most and what gives you the most enjoyment. Now that you mention CDs, I'm actually writing a similar video about vinyl! Might hold onto that one for Record Store Day. CDs would be an interesting deep dive!

[@jonathansmith4737]

@@MikeJehmsz I get alot of music imported from Japan and it would seem they are still pumping out CD's like we are pumping out cassettes in North America. Alot of harder to find records I can almost always find on CD these days, especially Jazz from Japan.

[@MikeJehmsz]

Japan's CD market is still going strong? You know, thinking about it, I'm actually not that surprised 😅 It's cool how there's still a large market and community for it!

[@jameslaidler2152]

And now cassettes and cassette decks are more expensive than other.

[@MikeJehmsz]

Thinking about it, they aren't too far off! 💸

[@bsanchez3563]

Hope it is type four/metal tapes and dvhs/dtheater hd videos

[@MikeJehmsz]

@@bsanchez3563 Maybe Type Four. This is more about audio cassettes than VHS/similar video tapes.

[@Teac4010s]

The issue with modern cassette is the way they are made are worse than old pre-recorded cassettes and they're all type 1 normal bias, not even a touch of chrome or metal. I don't use or buy new blanks or pre-recorded cassettes. I buy new old stock. I also prefer Reel to Reel but not even Gen Z can afford that haha and I am gen z. Reel to Reel is superior in sound.

[@MikeJehmsz]

I've heard the same from a few other comments. Coming from an older Gen Z, it honestly doesn't surprise me that the build quality became cheaper over time. Speaking of reel-to-reel, I actually had a Tascam tape machine about a year ago! Sadly, I didn't have any reels to play 😅 Ended up reselling it after I got it working!

[@DOSORDIE]

Cassettes can last extremely long. My oldest Cassettes are from the late 60s and they still work, but there are a lot of Tape sorts (especially BASF) which lose their specs or the magnetic layer just become sticky and is like glue on your tape head. But many of the Japanese Brands like TDK and Maxell are even work like on the first day after 40 or 50 yrs. But the really good Cassettes which can sound very close to CD (I don't joke) have discontinued in the early 00s. Nowadays available tapes are all crappy. There are some solid tapes like the RTM One, but man 25 yrs ago a similar tape would have cost 1,50 Bucks or 99 ct and for the price for the RTM One you would have gotten a really good Metal Tape with a very good shell, not to compare to modern shells. But I just have to say if you only use that hardware you showed on the video and not even serviced it, you'll never know how a good Cassette recorded on a Hifi Tapedeck and played back on a good Walkman can sound. I don't have any walkman that didn't need a service after all those yrs and it is very rarely that it's only the belt that needs to be changed. Walkmans had high Wow and Flutter, even when they were new. There is just a hand full that reaches the specs of a good tape deck, and the mechanism in that Nickelodeon Boombox is the cheapest that was built. It's nearly in every 90s/Early 00s Budget Boombox, the good mechanisms discontinued in the Mid 90s. And you should keep in mind that these boomboxes all use a permanent magnet as erase head. it's just flipped over mechanically, if you don't need it and touches the tape if you press record. So although it doesn't touch the tape while playback it's still very close and still has magnetic radiation which erases the tape slowly by every playback plus you can't do good recordings with those recorders you have a noise floor that sounds like a tornado and no bass. So if you just want to play your tapes without recording and you don't care about quality buy a player WITHOUT recording function, then your tapes won't sound worse if you play them often. Or buy good old hardware but make a service to get it working as it should! In the 90s even cheaper component systems had solid cassette mechanisms and a relative good recording quality, good blank tapes were cheap to get. Nowadays everything you can buy new (even the this "We are Rewind" Thing or the Fiio CP13) all have the same crappy mechanism. It has a wow and flutter that makes it impossible to listen to something with piano without get hurting in the ears there is no Anti Rolling in this machines, so it gets much worse if you move them. A good 80s Walkman has Anti Rolling, so even if it gets moved it can compensate the W&F. The Sony Walkman DD can reach W&F around 0,08% WRMS, it sounds perfect and it comes deep under 40 Hz. Those new players all Fall down at 80 Hz and they have no switch for the right Equalization at Type II/Type IV tapes. if you play them at normal EQ they sound too harsh and it gets worse if the player have a Bass Hole. Those budget 90s Players like the Panasonic are solid but they also don't sound great. relatively high W&F and no good Frequency response at all but a lot better than those new crappy players in theory but that doesn't help if you don't service them. I also got a Panasonic Player NOS in Box yesterday from 1987 it was almost unused but the belt is so old that it doesn't work anymore.. I mean it works, but it just wowing the whole time. I couldn't listen to it with that belt. Ordered a new one that fits. Hope to get it soon. But even if the belt is changed, may the pinch roller will cause problems with some tapes. Jamming Tape is nothing that happens normally if you use good cassettes, take good care of them and use good hardware and even in the 90s the most people just had cheap hardware because good hardware was expensive, so they think it's normal that cassettes sounds crappy and jam often… The truth is a good tape recording is much better, than a vinyl record. With a 3 head deck calibrated to a good cassette you only hear the hiss on headphones and the difference between recording and original is very very tiny.

[@MikeJehmsz]

I actually reread this a couple times over. I’m impressed by all the details you know! Now that you mention it, I might want to service the players I have. The Panasonics and the Sony Walkman you see at 0:00 are my family’s from years ago. They sound pretty good, but I think a service check is well worth it.

[@MikeJehmsz]

That Nickelodeon Boombox is also well overdue for a service check. Good thing I haven’t used it outside of that one Guardians tape! 😅🤞

[@DOSORDIE]

@@MikeJehmsz Be Careful with "Service Check" if you give it to a workshop or a seller or so. They let you spend lots of money and do nothing than a bit of "cleaning and oiling" and then tell you everything is ok. Most people lost the knowledge about cassettes 20 yrs ago. For a good service you not only need replacement parts, you also need test and calibration tapes for the correct azimuth adjustment of the head, the correct speed etc… if you can not do it by yourself it's not worth to spend the money in such a budget unit you can get everywhere for 15 bucks. A replacement belt cost 8-15 dollars, a replacement pinch roller (if you find a fitting one for your unit) also around that price. Then you need to find someone who can reassemble the unit, replace the parts, check the electronics (if you got one with dolby NR he also should check the dolby level if adjustable)… if this person is not a friend of yours and does it for free it will cost a lot of money, so you should do it with a device that's worth it. If you have the chance to get a Walkman DD II or III in good condition for cheap just buy it and find someone on the tapeheads forum that can repair it. If it runs perfect, you have the best you can get, but it will cost a bit more than those cheaper units.

[@MikeJehmsz]

Great to know! For longevity's sake, I think it's totally worth restoring my players. Thanks for all the details! I'm glad this video has introduced me to the greater cassette community 😄

[@DOSORDIE]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZfVkKqhh7-sj5I Here you can See and Hear how a good Cassette Recording can Sound. This is an Akai GX75 3 Head Deck. It has Divided Recording and Playback Amps and also a divided Recording and Playback Head (simpler Decks only have an Erase Head and a combined Playback/Recording Head which can only Record OR Playback). So with such a 3 Head Deck (Erase Head, Record Head, Playback Head) you can Playback the Tape while you record it, so you can compare the original Signal you record from with the Tape Signal, which lets you make best possible recordings. What You Hear in the Video is Shown in the Right corner of the Tapedeck (Source/red is the original the Deck is Recording from, Tape/blue is the recorded Cassette). The Signal on the Tape is also Always Around half a second later because the Playback Head is mechanically After the Recording Head, so don‘t wonder.if you use good Headphones you will notice that the difference between Source and Cassette is almost Not noticable.

[@DC-k7d]

Make a video on VHS coming back pls 🙏

[@MikeJehmsz]

Is it really coming back? 😨 I’ve only heard of that one Terrifier 2 tape being released at Walmart.

[@DC-k7d]

@MikeJehmsz Terrifier 1 and 2 are officially released, as well as new releases got Evil Dead and Susperia people are starting to collect older releases as well. Custom video cassette creators are becoming popular as well.

[@MikeJehmsz]

Ooh, which Evil Dead film? I heard about Terrifier 2, but not the first one. Same thing goes for custom VHS artists! I've followed a ton in the last three years. That end of the community might be worth a video in and of itself!

[@MikeJehmsz]

Would you recommend any custom VHS artists? I'd love to check out their stuff!

[@DC-k7d]

@MikeJehmsz Well I know about Kadi and there seems to be some independent artists on Etsy but personally I don't know too much because I recently gave up on analog media. I just prefer the digital quality of CDs & DVDs.

[@ravenmadd1343]

Modern tape decks are junk though, very basic compared to vintage equipment.

[@MikeJehmsz]

It doesn't surprise me, to be frank. I can imagine the hardware declining after cassettes started fading away.

[@6sek]

I'm but no all modern cassette players (made in the last 10 years) are terrible

[@MikeJehmsz]

That honestly wouldn't surprise me. Especially as cassettes faded out in the early 2000s, it makes sense if quality fell off later down the line.

[@BeuyobIsHere]

MIKE! I BE FIRST

[@MikeJehmsz]

*TRAVIS!* 👋👋👋

[@bsanchez3563]

Ysk also the movie V/H/S is on blu ray and vhs for the panasonic 2009 model of blu vcr combo unit.

[@MikeJehmsz]

@@bsanchez3563 I’ve heard of the movie. I think I saw it in a Barnes & Noble somewhere. But, this video’s more about *audio* cassettes.

[@bsanchez3563]

@@MikeJehmsz That makes sense :D

[@MikeJehmsz]

@bsanchez3563 I’ll check out the movie if you recommend it. I think you’ve gotten me interested! 😅

[@bsanchez3563]

@@MikeJehmsz o.o well ngl I never even iirc seen it myself but yeah I just recall hearing about the movie about getting sucked into the vcr bakj in highschool by a staff membervI was talking with and I think they were talking about that one as it was about 2018 or 2019 when I heard about it from them.. some kind of horror movie based upon being sucked into the vcr or tv etc is all I recall though.

[@MikeJehmsz]

@@bsanchez3563 I know I saw either a 4K or Blu-ray at Barnes & Noble. Next time I see it, I'll give it a look. Thanks, bro!

[@giordanofox]

I hate cassete soo much, i hate vinyl too because it's soo expencive since it's comeback and cd's are good quality untill they rot... honestly i just go with local hifi digital formats half the stuff i listen to is from bandcamp 1/4 is soo low quality due to it's age/style it doest even matter (it's intended to suck anyway) and the last forth is classic stuff my dad got on vinyl.

[@MikeJehmsz]

I'm glad you mentioned Bandcamp! "It's intended to suck anyway" is a PERFECT way to put it 🤣 I rediscovered the site while doing research for this video. Oddly enough, some artists *are* putting their tracks on cassette, CD, and vinyl. I guess it's for the novelty. Plenty of indie music artists love the DIY format!